A new sign that our current financial woes are unlike any that have come before them: Microsoft announced today that it will be cutting up to 5,000 workers over the next 18 months--the first time in the software giant's 34-year history that is has undertaken company-wide cuts. CEO Steve Ballmer said in a statement that Microsoft is "not immune to the effects of the economy." Microsoft's losses are due both to a slump in PC sales and the popularity of "nextbooks," cheap laptops that come bundled with Windows XP instead of Vista, or no Microsoft software at all.
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